ANS December 2020

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ANS-362 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Paul Stoetzer 27 Dec '20

27 Dec '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-362 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and commun- icating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/ In this edition: * ARISS SSTV Event Commemorating 20 Years of Operations Continues Through 12-31 * AMSAT CW Activity Day - January 1st * FoxTelem v 1.09n5 Released * Virgin Orbit LauncherOne Launch Window Now Likely Mid-January * AO-7's Full Sun Season Ends * ARISS News * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-362.01 ANS-362 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 362.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE December 27, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-362.01 ARISS SSTV Event Commemorating 20 Years of Operations Continues Through 12-31 An ARISS Slow Scan TV (SSTV) event is scheduled from the International Space Station (ISS). This will be a special SSTV event to celebrate the 20th anniversary of ARISS on board the International Space Station. The event is scheduled to begin on December 24 at 16:40 UTC and continue through December 31 ending at 18:15 UTC. Dates are subject to change due to ISS operational adjustments. Images will be downlinked at 145.8 MHz +/- 3 KHz for Doppler shift and the expected SSTV mode of operation is PD 120. Radio enthusiasts participating in the event can post images they receive at the ARISS SSTV Gallery at https://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_SSTV/. After your image is posted at the gallery, you can acquire a special award by linking to https://ariss.pzk.org.pl/sstv/ and following directions for submitting a digital copy of your received image. [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT CW Activity Day 2021 You are cordially invited to participate in CW Activity Day 2021, sponsored by AMSAT for amateurs around the world. Operate CW through any amateur satellite on 1 January 2021 UTC. Straight keys and bugs are encouraged but not required. You need not send in a log, but are encouraged to post a brief report of your activity on the amsat-bb Protect your satellites! Please remember to use the minimum power needed to complete your QSOs. CU on the birds! [ANS thanks Ray Soifer, W2RS, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ FoxTelem v 1.09n5 Released I have a slightly updated version of FoxTelem. This is not a mandatory upgrade and you won't get a reminder message. This includes just a couple of fixes: * Allow both Mode and Freq to be switched automatically in Find Signal mode, assuming Auto Start is on. This might be important to you if you use Find SIgnal and you want to track Fox-1E and the existing Fox spacecraft * Support a 12kHz IF for BPSK as requested by SatNogs. This will allow the IF from the SatNogs receiver to be decoded, including any recordings that are made by SatNogs ground stations. * Display correct error messages on WOD tab when T0 or keps not available If those are important to you then feel free to upgrade. The release is available here: http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/windows/FoxTelem_1.09n5_windows.zip http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/linux/FoxTelem_1.09n5_linux.tar.gz http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/mac/FoxTelem_1.09n5_mac.tar.gz If you are upgrading from 1.09n3 then you only need to replace the jar file. If you know how to do that, then the jar file is here: http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/test/FoxTelem.jar If you have questions then feel free to send me an email. [ANS thanks Chris Thompson, AC2CZ/G0KLA, AMSAT FoxTelem Developer, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Virgin Orbit LauncherOne Launch Window Now Likely Mid-January Via @Virgin_Orbit on Twitter: Update from Mojave: as our teammates cleared their preventative quarantines, we got back into our pre-launch operations. Sunday and Monday, we completed our final wet dress rehearsal — the last big test we had planned prior to our launch. Our policies around social distancing were strict before, but we’ve since implemented even more extreme measures to ensure the health and safety of our team. A full 2/3rds of the small crew who were on-site for our previous WDR supported this latest rehearsal remotely. Our hardware is basically ready to go, as is our team. We are working with our partners in government and with our customers to identify our new candidate launch windows. We’ll publish new dates as soon as they are final, but currently, the window is likely to be mid-January. Finally: to all of our friends, neighbors, and families, we wish you a joyous, safe, socially distanced, disinfected holiday season. As 2020 winds down and we all prepare to enter a new chapter, please take care of yourselves and your loved ones — and wear a mask! [ANS thanks Virgin Orbit for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT's GOLF Program is about getting back to higher orbits, and it all begins with GOLF-TEE – a technology demonstrator for deployable solar panels, propulsion, and attitude control. Come along for the ride. The journey will be worth it! https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AO-7's Full-Sun Season Ends On December 26th, AO-7 began entering eclipse each orbit after two months of continuous sunlight. This means that the 24 hour timer will no longer switch the satellite between Mode A and Mode B each day as the satellite normally powers up in Mode B after exiting eclipse. Joe Werth, KE9AJ, was a strong advocate for Mode A operation this season, making 18 QSOs, including 4 transatlantic QSOs, using a 10m moxon for the downlink. On October 19th, operating portable in EN50, he worked Jérôme LeCuyer, F4DXV, in JN15, a distance of 7,088 km. Although longer distance QSOs have certainly been made on AO-7 Mode A, this represents the longest distance QSO claimed for AMSAT records. The next full sun period is estimated to begin on September 10, 2021 and last until April 7, 2022. [ANS thanks AMSAT Executive Vice President Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Twenty years of ARISS! On December 21, 2000 at 20:29 UTC, Luther Burbank School in Burbank, IL had ARISS contact number 1. I was privileged to be the control operator and ARISS mentor for that first contact. We failed two days earlier, but we figured out what had gone wrong and on the second day, we had a highly successful contact with Bill Shepherd KD5GSL who operated NA1SS. Since that first contact, ARISS has had 1411 total events; all of them an unforgettable experience for everyone involved. I am sure the crewmembers have enjoyed the contacts just as much as the schools. I thank my ham crew who worked in putting together contact number 1 (try putting antennas up with minus 30 degrees windchill factors), the students who went into the great unknown (someone has to be first), the school staff who knew they had the right students to make it happen, and the parents who pushed their student to participate. Now ARISS embarks on the next 20 years of space exploration. In the not-too-distant future, a school may be talking to a crewmember who is orbiting the moon. So, stay tuned where ARISS goes next. Please check for additional 20th year anniversary messages at https://www.ariss.org/. The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, ARISS Operations, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events Want to see AMSAT in action or learn more about amateur radio in space? AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. No upcoming presentations listed [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations ****Watch Twitter, there are lots pop-up roves happening lately, and I can’t keep this page updated with all of them.**** N4DCW: EM66 12/27 W9TWJ: Either next Tuesday 12/29 or Wednesday 12/30, AB5SS and I will be loading up and activating EL28 (maybe a few other surrounding) – FM and linear. Please submit any additions or corrections to ke0pbr at gmail.com [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Satellite Shorts From All Over + AO-92 was returned to service on Christmas Day. Due to the condition of the satellite's batteries, please do not use the satellite when it is in eclipse (when the satellite is not in sun). It is unknown how long it will continue to operate. AO-91 is also experiencing battery issues. Please do not use AO-91 in eclipse. + Want to try ham radio satellite operating but don’t think you have the gear you need? Check out Sean Kutzko. KX9X's latest video for DX Engineering & see how you can work satellites using gear you may already have in your shack! https://youtu.be/tKZ_qCfGn5A + The Los Angeles Times published an article about ham radio aboard the ISS entitled "Living in space can get lonely. What helps? Talking to random people over ham radio" on December 23rd. https://tinyurl.com/ANS-362-LATimes + Phys.org also published an article on ARISS: https://tinyurl.com/ANS-362-Phys + AMSAT Secretary Jeff Davis, KE9V, reports on his blog that the Twin Cities DX Association included a member profile of Senior AMSAT News Service Editor Mark Johns, K0JM, in the December 2020 edition of the Gray Line Report. https://ke9v.net/2020/12/24/amsat-volunteers.html + Astronomers have encountered a mystery surprisingly close to Earth. Using the Parkes telescope in Australia, scientists discovered a strange radio signal coming from Proxima Centauri, the star system closest to the Sun. The signal occupies an oddly narrow 982MHz band that’s unused by human-made spacecraft, yet not possible through known natural processes. The frequency shifts up, too, rather than down like you’d expect for a planet. Even though the cause is likely something other than extraterrestrial life, the eventual answer could be very useful. (ANS thanks Engadget.com for the above information) + Several new products are available on the AMSAT Zazzle store, including a set of coasters, a watch, a t-shirt featuring the AMSAT round logo, and more. Check out the new items! 25% of the purchase price goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear + All issues of The AMSAT Journal dating back to 2014 are now available to AMSAT members on AMSAT's new membership portal. The 1969-2013 archive will be added at a later date. All editions of AMSAT's Symposium Proceedings are also available for members. If you're a current AMSAT member, get logged on today. If you are not yet a member, consider joining today at https://launch.amsat.org/ + The 2020 edition of AMSAT’s Getting Started with Amateur Satellites is now available on the AMSAT store. A perennial favorite, Getting Started is updated every year with the latest amateur satellite information, and is the premier primer of satellite operation. The book is presented in DRM-free PDF format, in full color, and covers all aspects of making your first contacts on a ham radio satellite. The digital download is available for $15 at https://tinyurl.com/2020GettingStarted. The print edition is $30 plus shipping and is available at https://tinyurl.com/GS2020Print --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. President's Club donations may be made at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-PresClub. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/ 73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space, This week's ANS Editor, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org

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AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletin ANS-348
by kd4iz＠frawg.org 13 Dec '20

13 Dec '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-348 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and commun- icating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor(a)amsat.org You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * AMSAT-BB has migrated email server * Launch Window for AMSAT’s RadFxSat-2 / Fox-1E Opens December 19th * Robots Dominate Space News This Week * SpaceX's Starship SN8 soars on test launch with explosive landing * The Great Conjunction is Coming on December 21, 2020 * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for December ##, 2020 * ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts From All Over * Tips for the New Operator - Mobile Apps 2 SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-348.01 ANS-320 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 348.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE 2020 December 13 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-348.01 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT-BB has migrated email server software AMSAT’s IT team has been working to upgrade the Mailman software that supports mailing lists (aka reflectors, listserv, BB, etc). This upgrade became necessary for several reasons, one of which was the release of a new major revision of the Mailman software itself. The new version of Mailman has many improvements, including: an updated web UI, management of all list memberships with a single account, and a web UI for searching and browsing archives. The upgrade requires existing mail list users to sign up for a “new” account, which will be used to manage their existing list subscriptions and preferences. This will also require everyone to validate their preferences, aliases (if any), etc. Most existing preferences from the previous version of Mailman did not migrate. Please see the procedures below. Please contact postmaster(a)amsat.org with any questions or concerns regarding this upgrade. Procedures to to sign up for the new Mailman service were sent to all AMSAT-BB subscribers. Please read the PDF attached to the email. Matt, KM4EXS adds this reminder in a follow up email: Please use the "Sign Up" option, using the email address that you use for your subscriptions. That process will link the "new" account to all your existing subscriptions. You can then set your digest preferences as you like. [ANS thanks Matt Alberti / KM4EXS / AMSAT-IT Volunteer for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Launch Window for AMSAT’s RadFxSat-2 / Fox-1E Opens December 19th December 2, 2020 Virgin Orbit has announced that the launch window for their LauncherOne Launch Demo 2 mission opens on December 19th. This launch will carry AMSAT’s RadFxSat-2 / Fox-1E to orbit. RadFxSat-2, like RadFxSat / Fox-1B, now AMSAT-OSCAR 91, is a partnership opportunity between Vanderbilt University and AMSAT and will carry a similar radiation effects experiment, studying new FinFET technology. RadFxSat-2 is the fifth and final Fox-1 satellite built by AMSAT. The RadFxSat-2 spacecraft bus is built on the Fox-1 series but features a linear transponder “upgrade” to replace the standard FM transponder in Fox-1A through D. In addition, the uplink and downlink bands are re- versed from the previous Fox satellites in a Mode V/u (J) configuration using a 2 meter uplink and 70 cm downlink. The downlink features a 1200 bps BPSK telemetry channel to carry the Vanderbilt science data in addition to a 30 kHz wide transponder for amateur radio use. Telemetry and experiment data can be decoded using FoxTelem version 1.09 or later. FoxTelem is available at: https://www.amsat.org/foxtelem-software-for-windows-mac-linux/. Participation in telemetry collection by as many stations in as many parts of the world as possible is essential as AMSAT Engineering looks for successful startup and indications of the general health and function of the satellite as it begins to acclimate to space. AMSAT will send a commemorative 3D printed QSL card to the first station capturing telemetry from RadFxSat-2. Uplink LSB 145.860 MHz through 145.890 MHz Downlink USB 435.760 MHz through 435.790 MHz 1.2kbps BPSK telemetry 435.750 MHz Launches on ELaNa XX – Virgin Orbit LauncherOne Launch Demo 2. [ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, Contributing Editor ANS News Service for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Robots Dominate Space News This Week +Two groundbreaking robotic sample return missions dominated much of the space news this week. A capsule holding grains of rock and dust sampled from asteroid Ryugu hit the Earth’s atmosphere at 11.6 km/s and safely parachuted into the Australian outback. Hayabusa2 launched on Dec. 3, 2014, took four years to reach Ryugu, then did a bunch of science (in- cluding shooting it with a tantalum bullet and dropping numerous de- ployables on the body—here’s a detailed PDF about the mission), before returning with ~100 mg of samples, having covered a total of 5.24 bil- lion kilometers. The mission isn’t over for Hayabusa2 though—it’s now headed toward asteroid 1998KY26 for humanity’s first rendezvous with a fast rotating asteroid in 2031 and a flyby of 2001CC21 along the way. +After 19 hours of drilling and scooping samples, Chang’e 5’s ascent vehicle spring-launched and then blasted off, returning to lunar orbit carrying ~2 kg of regolith. It successfully rendezvoused with the re- turn vehicle, transferred the sample, and the return vehicle has em- barked on its multi-day return trip. These will be the first lunar samples returned since the 70s and the first sample return mission for China. The rendezvous of the ascent vehicle and the return segment used microwave radar that was accurate down to 0.1° and able to lock on to a circle with a 3.33 cm radius. +The cost to train deep neural networks is decreasing at 50x Moore’s Law, leading many to believe that machine learning, while very much in its infancy, will see many more space applications in the near future. Cut- ting edge applications, such as making autonomous decisions because throughput or speed-of-light delay prevent humans from doing so, have already been demonstrated, and more are on the horizon. [ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ SpaceX's Starship SN8 prototype soars on epic test launch, with explosive landing SpaceX's Starship spaceflight system just took a big step on its path to Mars. The latest Starship prototype, a shiny silver vehicle known as SN8, launched on an epic high-altitude test flight today (Dec. 9), taking off at 5:45 p.m. EST (2245 GMT) from SpaceX's facility near the South Texas village of Boca Chica. The goal was to soar about 7.8 miles (12.5 kilometers) into the sky, perform some complex aerial maneuvers — including a "belly flop" like the one the final Starship will perform when coming back to Earth on operational flights — and then land safely near the launch stand. The 165-foot-tall (50 meters) SN8 appeared to notch all of these big milestones, except for the final one: The vehicle hit its landing mark but came in too fast, exploding in a dramatic fireball 6 minutes and 42 seconds after liftoff. Additional information and video available at: https://bit.ly/3n7KLV1 [ANS thanks Mike Wall of Space.com for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ The Great Conjunction is Coming on December 21, 2020 In their closest encounter since 1623, Jupiter and Saturn appear as a single star in the evening sky next month. All through the summer and into the fall, the two gas giants of the solar system, Jupiter and Saturn, have been calling attention to themselves in the southern evening sky. Jupiter of course, always appears brilliant and is usually one of the brightest nighttime objects, but in recent months it has stood out even more than usual because of the presence of bright Saturn trailing just off to its left (east). Appearing about one-twelfth as bright, Saturn has, in a way, served as Jupiter's "lieutenant" in this year of 2020. This will be the first time since 1623 that this event will be seen. Additional information is at: https://bit.ly/3m4ot5j [ANS thanks Joe Rao of Space.com for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the AMSAT office is closed until further notice. For details, please visit https://www.amsat.org/amsat-office-closed-until-further-notice/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for December 11, 2020 None. Please refer to the TLE/Keplerian Element Resources at: https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/ [ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition? Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff from our Zazzle store! 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ ARISS NEWS for the week of 9 December, 2020 ARISS has posted a special anniversary message and a video celebrating our 20th Anniversary on the ARISS Web Page: <http://www.ariss.org>. An ARISS Slow Scan TV (SSTV) event is scheduled from the International Space Station (ISS) for late December. This will be a special SSTV event to celebrate the 20th anniversary of ARISS. The event is scheduled to begin on December 24 and continue through December 31. Dates are subject to change due to ISS operational adjustments. The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html Upcoming Contacts: Oregon Charter Academy, Mill City, OR, telebridge via VK4KHZ (Shannon Walker KD5DXB) Tue 2020-12-15 19:00:49 UTC 32 deg -------------------------------------------------------------------- The following schools have now been postponed/cancelled due to COVID-19: Postponed: No new schools Cancelled: RO-SAT One, Piatra-Neamț, Romania, direct via YRØISS Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time. All dates and times listed follow International Standard ISO 8601 date and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS The complete schedule page has been updated as of 2020-12-08 16:00 UTC. Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions for any contact that may be streamed live. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N and David Jordan AA4KN, of the ARISS operation team mentor group for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations Upcoming Roves: Note from KE0PBR ****Watch Twitter, there are lots pop-up roves hap- pening lately, and I can’t keep this page updated with all of them.**** @N4DCW will be working passes from EM87 Dec 10-13. Click link to check for details: https://bit.ly/36V2SYM @KL7TN: DM67/68: If my plans still hold up, Dec 12-13 for DM67/68 is on my radar. @AD7DB: DM22 : Dec 17-20 Maybe DM13,23,32 Holiday Style on FM sats. No Major Roves are listed. Please submit any additions or corrections to KE0PBR (at) gmail.com [ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events <No update listed this week> [ANS thanks AMSAT.org for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Satellite Shorts From All Over --------------------------------------------------------------------- Happy birthday to OSCAR 1 -- Age 59! + The first amateur satellite, simply named OSCAR (Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio), was launched on December 12, 1961, barely four years after the launch of the world's first satellite of any kind, Sputnik I. The satellite had to be built in a very specific shape and weight, so it could be used in place of one of the weights necessary for balancing the payload in the rocket stage. OSCAR 1 was the first satellite to be ejected as a secondary payload (the primary payload was Discoverer 36) and to subsequently enter a separate orbit. Its orbit decayed quickly, yet despite orbiting for only 22 days, OSCAR 1 was an immediate success. More than 570 amateur radio opera- tors in 28 countries forwarded observations to Project OSCAR (prede- cessor organization to AMSAT). (ANS thanks The Year in Space for the above information) --------------------------------------------------------------------- + SpaceX won $885.5 million in broadband subsidies the FCC awarded pro- viders Dec. 7 under its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase 1 auction. SpaceX’s share of the funding is one of the largest among the 180 winning bidders. The FCC will distribute the $9.2 billion in RDOF funding over the next 10 years to help the winning providers bring broadband service to some 5.2 million unserved homes and busi- nesses in rural parts of the United States. (ANS thanks SpaceNews.com for the above information) --------------------------------------------------------------------- + SpaceX launched its upgraded Cargo Dragon spacecraft on Dec. 6. Based on Crew Dragon (basically stripped of seats, life support equipment, abort motors, and navigation interfaces), this was their 21st commer- cial ISS resupply mission. This version of Cargo Dragon is certified for five flights compared to its predecessor’s three, and it conducts automated docking instead of Canadarm-captured berthing. (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information) --------------------------------------------------------------------- + There may still be time to participate in the last part of the 2020 Open Source CubeSat Workshop. The workshop provides a forum for Cube- Sat developers and CubeSat mission operators to meet and join forces on open source projects. The focus of this year’s workshop is on sharing of ideas and open collaboration, even when confined at home. The target audience is academia, research institutes, companies, and individuals. The event takes place 12 and 13 December, 13:00 - 17:00 UTC each day: https://events.libre.space/event/4/ (ANS thanks Libre Space Community for the above information) --------------------------------------------------------------------- + Surprisingly clear videos of the Arecibo Observatory collapse are now available, one from a drone that was actively inspecting a cable dur- ing the event and the other from a camera in the control room. A de- tailed frame-by-frame analysis is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59WQIRvezzI (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information) --------------------------------------------------------------------- + GEOMAGNETIC STORM December 10, 2020 A coronal mass ejection (CME) occurred heading for Earth early in the week., and geomagnetic storms were forecast to occur when it arrived on December 9th and 10th. NOAA forecasters downgraded their possible G3 warning. Unfortunately for Skywatchers, auroras that were could originally thought possible as far south as Illinois and Oregon were not seen farther south than the northern tier. On the other hand satellite surface charging issues and HF propagation have remained unaffected without the blackouts typical of these dis- turbances. An interesting discussion of the reasons for this "non- event" is on Dr. Tamitha Skov's YouTube/Patreon channel at: https://bit.ly/38113ce (ANS thanks Spaceweather.com and Dr. Skov for the above information) --------------------------------------------------------------------- + Next Rocket Lab launch delayed due to weather Due to weather over the range this week at LC-1 RocketLab are now tar- geting no earlier than Monday, 14 December UTC for #TheOwlsNightBegins mission. Terry ads in a follow up note: "There is a solar eclipse on Monday that may affect the mission so the launch is delayed until Tuesday." See: https://twitter.com/RocketLab/status/1337329320876904450 Target lift-off: UTC | 09:00 - 10:59 (ANS thanks Terry Osborne, ZL2BAC for the above information) --------------------------------------------------------------------- + Samples of asteroid Ryugu arrive in Japan after successful Hayabusa2 capsule landing on Dec. 5 Japanese scientists are thrilled to finally have asteroid samples arrive Monday (Dec. 7) after a long flight from Australia — and a much longer journey through the solar system. An aerial shot of the Hayabusa2 return capsule and parachute after its landing on a bush in the Woomera Prohibited Area, Australia. Those rocks originate on a near-Earth asteroid called Ryugu; the Hayabusa2 spacecraft snagged them in 2019 before a yearlong journey to deliver them to Earth in a small sample-return capsule. The capsule landed on Dec. 5 in the Woomera Prohibited Area in South Australia, creating a stunning fireball in the pre-dawn skies. Japanese scientists on site successfully tracked down the capsule and collected the precious cosmic delivery to begin the final leg of its journey. See additional information and photos at: https://bit.ly/379wPnV (ANS thanks Meghan Bartels and Space.com for the above information) --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space, This week's ANS Editor, Jack Spitznagel, KD4IZ kd4iz at amsat dot org

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ANS-337 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - Launch Window for AMSAT's RadFxSat-2 / Fox-1E Opens December 19th
by Paul Stoetzer 02 Dec '20

02 Dec '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN ANS-337 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * Launch Window for AMSAT's RadFxSat-2 / Fox-1E Opens December 19th SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-337 ANS-337 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin AMSAT News Service Bulletin 337.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE December 2, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-337.01 Launch Window for AMSAT's RadFxSat-2 / Fox-1E Opens December 19th Virgin Orbit has announced that the launch window for their LauncherOne Launch Demo 2 mission opens on December 19th. This launch will carry AMSAT's RadFxSat-2 / Fox-1E to orbit. RadFxSat-2, like RadFxSat / Fox-1B, now AMSAT-OSCAR 91, is a partnership opportunity between Vanderbilt University and AMSAT and will carry a similar radiation effects experiment, studying new FinFET technology. RadFxSat-2 is the fifth and final Fox-1 satellite built by AMSAT. The RadFxSat-2 spacecraft bus is built on the Fox-1 series but features a linear transponder “upgrade” to replace the standard FM transponder in Fox-1A through D. In addition, the uplink and downlink bands are reversed from the previous Fox satellites in a Mode V/u (J) configuration using a 2 meter uplink and 70 cm downlink. The downlink features a 1200 bps BPSK telemetry channel to carry the Vanderbilt science data in addition to a 30 kHz wide transponder for amateur radio use. Telemetry and experiment data can be decoded using FoxTelem version 1.09 or later. FoxTelem is available at https://www.amsat.org/foxtelem-software-for-windows-mac-linux/. Participation in telemetry collection by as many stations in as many parts of the world as possible is essential as AMSAT Engineering looks for successful startup and indications of the general health and function of the satellite as it begins to acclimate to space. AMSAT will send a commemorative 3D printed QSL card to the first station capturing telemetry from RadFxSat-2. RadFxSat-2 / Fox-1E Frequencies: Telemetry Downlink - 435.750 MHz Inverting Linear Transponder Uplink - 145.860 MHz - 145.890 MHz Inverting Linear Transponder Downlink - 435.760 MHz - 435.790 MHz [ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. President's Club donations may be made at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-PresClub. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/ 73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space, This week's ANS Contributing Editor, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org

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ANS December 2020